July 16, 2012

Fantasia, the largest
genre film festival in North America, swings into action this week, in
Montréal. Running from July 19 to August 9 — three weeks! — the 16th annual
edition will feature over 160 films, cutting edge to classic revival, with
guests, panels, master classes and special events throughout. This year, as a
measure of the festival’s international influence and reputation, Fantasia has
grown to include a new Film Market for industry agents and producers.

Films on a Frankensteinian theme include Eron Sheean’s Errors of the Human Body, describes as “an
unsettling, stylistically bold look at the personal and ethical horrors of
modern genetic engineering”, and Allison
Defren’s The Mechanical Bride, a
disturbing documentary exploring the obsessions of “individuals of
all ages and origins who feel unconditional love for, and are physically
attracted to, mechanical women”.

On a
lighter note, shades of Robocop
and The Vindicator, there’s
Steven Kostanski’s Manborg, a new
movie that plays like a drive-in/grindhouse sci-fi B-movie from the seventies.

Among the original programming, we note Origins of The Dark Knight,a lecture and screening hosted by Philippe Spurrell
and Christian Major that tracks early influences for Bob Kane’s Batman, including the 1931 film The Reckoner (aka The Public Defender), starring Richard Dix as a millionaire playboy who
moonlights as a mysterious avenger, assisted by Boris Karloff as the
Alfred-like character, “The Professor”. Then there’s If They Came from Within, the fun, Alternative History
of Canadian Horror, which I previously posted about here.

“Intelligent and well-presented… avid in seeking out a wide range of examples... A useful research aid for those seeking to survey the uses to which the Frankenstein monster is still being put in popular culture.”— Intute, Arts & Humanities

“Outstanding and intelligent … I am insane with giddiness that "It's ALIVE!!"— Max, The Drunken Severed Head

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